New Beginnings
by M. Beth Tora
Summary: Sequel to Issues. Rose closed her eyes and let death embrace her… What she didn’t know at the time was that on her birthday, four years later, she was born again.
1. Meeting for a Second Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I do own Rose

Chapter 1: Meeting for the Second Time

_Rose stood in front of the two tomb stones; flowers in her hand. She had come here everyday for three months. The first tomb stone read "Mihael Keehl, 1989-2010, R.I.P." The second, "Mail Jeevas, 1990-2010, R.I.P."_ _The words were burned into the girl's memory. It was 12 days after her birthday that he had died. She had just turned 18, and a month and one day before that he had turned 20. She could feel the tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. She mournfully set the flowers on the grave and dusted off the tomb._

"_Hey you!" she heard someone call. She stood and turned to find a girl no older than her standing about two yards away from her. In an instant, she heard a bang and felt a pain in her chest. Three more bangs were heard, and pain shot into her shoulder, her stomach and her leg. She toppled over onto the grass. As she lied on the ground, she looked up at her murderer, knowing why she was killed. She closed her eyes and let death embrace her…_

What she didn't know at the time was that on her birthday, four years later, she was born again. Not only that, but she was reborn as the exact same person she had died as; same name, same blood type and same appearance. At the early age of three, she was extremely talented and told stories. But they weren't just stories; the thing was, she had remembered everything from her past life. No one believed these stories, but she knew they were true. Her mother, Eliza, wasn't quite sure she believed her daughter. But she often told these stories to her friend from Russia, Aglaii. Interestingly enough, her son told very similar stories. They decided that it was time that their children should meet.

"When are they going to get here?" Rose asked, holding her mother's hand as they waited at the airport.

"They should be here any minuet now, Rose. You need to be patient," Eliza said as she looked around. As soon as she finished saying these words, she saw the vibrantly blond hair of her friend. "Aglaii! Over here!" she called waving her arm. The woman went over to where she was called, bags in one hand, a small child's hand in the other.

"Eliza, my good friend, it's so nice to finally see you," the blond woman said as she set down her bag to hold her friend's hand.

"I feel the same way, Aglaii. You're even more beautiful in person," Eliza said with a smile, causing Aglaii to blush. "Oh! Introductions! Aglaii, this is my daughter, Rose. Rose, this is my good friend Aglaii." Rose hid a little behind her mother's leg.

"What a beautiful looking child. She is going to become a very beautiful woman when she grows up," Aglaii said with a grin as she crouched down to look at the little girl. She then turned a little behind her and said something in Russian and tugged the hand that was in hers. A little blond boy appeared from behind her, his chin length hair curved in to frame his face.

"Eliza, Rose, this is my son Mihael," she said before turning to her son and saying something else in Russian, probably introducing the two to him. He didn't seem to be paying attention to what she was saying, he was more focused on Rose. The two smiled at each other. They approached each other and hugged one another as if they had been friends for a very long time. Both of the mothers were startled, to say the least.

When they separated, they held hands and looked up at their mothers, smiling warmly.

"It seems like our children will get along very well," Aglaii said looking down at the two. Eliza nodded before taking Rose's free hand, her friend following suit with her son. They walked out of the air port, bags in hand and went to the car. The little kids went into the back seat and helped each other buckle their seat belts, while the adults got into the front seat.

"Did you notice how they looked when they saw each other?" Aglaii asked Eliza as she sat in the passenger seat.

"I didn't, did they look different?" Eliza asked as she drove.

"When they looked at each other, they didn't look like they were meeting for the first time. They had an expression that said, 'Oh, there you are.' Like they were separated for a long time and they finally found each other," the blond woman explained.

"I hadn't noticed that. But it would explain why they hugged each other… Maybe their stories are true, and maybe in their past lives they were together. At the very least they were really good friends," Eliza said, thinking about the stories Rose had told her. Meanwhile, Mihael and Rose were talking to each other.

"I'm happy we found each other again, Mihael. I was worried that I might never see you again," Rose said as she continued to hold the blond boy's hand.

"I knew we would meet again, Rose. I just didn't think we'd be so young," he said with a smile, his English wasn't as good as he would have liked.

"Do you want me to call you Mello or Mihael?" the little girl asked softly. The blond shook his head.

"Unless I become an orphan again, I'm going to stay as Mihael," he replied, squeezing his friend's hand. They sat in silence for a moment.

"Does it startle you too? When you look in the mirror and see a little kid instead of an adult?" Rose asked. This time, the blond nodded.

"I'm startled when I wake up to find myself in a little kid's room rather than my other one," Mihael said as he kicked his feet.

"My room has always looked the way it does now. Big, white and lots of comfy things," the little girl responded. They continue talking like this until they noticed the adults had stopped talking. Mihael had a feeling that they were eavesdropping.

"Listening in on other people's conversations is rude," Rose said to her mom when her friend told her his feeling. Both of the adults apologized and went back to talking to one another.


	2. The Past Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, but I do own Rose

Chapter 2: The Past Revealed

Aglaii and Mihael only stayed in America for a few days before going back to Russia. The stories Rose and Mihael told became more descriptive, and they would often call each other and talk as if they were… well, lovers that were very far away. Aglaii and Eliza were some what concerned about this situation. One day, Eliza took Rose to a therapist to see if there was something wrong with her.

"Mrs. McKeen. There isn't anything wrong with Rose," they said after speaking with the little girl in private. "She's not insane, but from what you told me about her and her friend- I do strongly believe that there is something going on. I am not the right person to talk to about past lives and the relationships that happened in those past lives, but I do know someone who could enlighten you on this situation. But you will need both of them together in order to figure out if their stories are true."

Unfortunately, neither Aglaii nor Eliza had time to get together again. It would be twelve years before they managed to meet up again…

"Mom! Where are they!? I don't see them!" Rose said in distress, trying to see over people to find who she was waiting for.

"Their plane just landed, dear. You need to be patient," Eliza said, trying to calm her child down while also looking for her friend, hoping that they wouldn't miss the appointment. But it only took a few minuets to see their bright blond hair within the crowd.

"Aglaii! Mihael! Over here!" Eliza called, waving her arms. The two headed over to their friends. Mihael practically ran up to Rose and hugged her before spinning her.

"Mihael has been looking forward to this for a while," Aglaii said with a smile as she approached her friend and hugged her.

"Rose too. She's been all a twitter about seeing Mihael again," Eliza said, returning the embrace. They watched their children giggle with each other as they held one another.

Once all hugs were out of their system, for the most part, they all got into the car and started heading out.

"Mihael has gotten so handsome since the last time you were here," Eliza said as she drove, looking in her rear-view mirror to look at the young man sitting with her daughter.

"Yes, many men want their daughters to marry Mihael. But he refuses to be with anyone other than Rose," Aglaii said with a sigh.

"Sounds like Rose, she won't go out with anyone unless they're Mihael," Eliza said in an exasperated tone.

"Rose has become very beautiful. Maybe they should get married…" Aglaii suggested. Eliza shrugged and continued to drive. Meanwhile, Rose and Mihael were having a conversation of their own.

"You've gotten so beautiful, Rose. You're just as I remember you," Mihael said, brushing a hair out of the girl's face.

"You look almost exactly like how you did when we first met, but now you look healthier and happier!" Rose said with a smile.

"Well, I've been happy. Before I didn't have a family that loved me, now I do. Things are different in this life time," the blond said before taking the girl's hand and kissing her knuckles. "I feel horrible that we never got to get married. I was so looking forward to you being my wife."

"We've been given a second chance at life. We can try again when we're old enough," Rose said before kissing Mihael on the cheek. "We're not old enough to kiss on the lips. We need to wait a little longer."

"In the part of Russia I live in, if a man kisses a woman on the lips- it's the same as a marriage proposal. It is expected of them to get married," the blond said with a smile. The girl couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, when we're old enough, we should kiss. Then we can get married," she said, rubbing noses with him. Soon they reached a building that looked very old.

"Where are we, Mom?" Rose asked as they got out of the car.

"This woman is a psychic that looks into past lives. I want her to look at you two," Eliza explained as they walked into the building. The smell of burning incense invaded their lungs once they got past the beaded doorway. A woman who looked like she might die at anytime stood in front of a curtain covered door, as if she had been expecting them.

"Come in," she said, her voice shaking as she moved away the curtain to show a small candle lit room. The four went inside and sat on the cushions provided. The woman looked at the four of them, but stopped at Mihael.

"You… I saw you on the news," she said, pointing at the blond.

"Not surprising, I worked for the Mafia," he said with a smirk. Instantly he was smacked by Aglaii.

"Ah, so you are aware of your past life," the woman said, returning the look. She placed her hand on Mihael's head and stood very still, which was a feat within itself considering how much she shook just moments before. She then gasped and removed her hand, as if she had been burned.

"Your past life was not a pleasant one…" she said, looking seriously at Mihael. "You were an orphan; you watched your family burn in a church as you stood helpless. You were whisked away to a special orphanage or boarding school. You were one of the greatest… but that white child, you felt so much hate for him… you ran off when you were only 14 in attempt to run away from your fate… Oh, so much hate and lust. You surrounded yourself in sex, drugs and violence. You lost yourself… until you met…" the woman eyed Rose. She went over to her and placed her hand on top of her head, much like she had with Mihael. But this time, she seemed reluctant to remove her hand.

"Your past life is much happier," she said, looking at Rose with a smile. "You lived with loving parents who let you express yourself and who never forced you to be anything you didn't want to be. You were intelligent and savvy and had a very good heart. You showed love and compassion to everyone you met. Including him," with that, the woman nodded towards Mihael. "You're lives intertwined when you…" she looked at the blond, "…were at your worse, and you…" she looked at Rose, "…were at your best. She showed you kindness, and he put down his barriers to show you his fear. You balanced each other. He had a reckless life and had no control, she had a safe life with control to spare. As you spent time with each other, you began to change for each other. You started to end your addictions and try to become something she would be proud of, and you started to understand that you can't force anyone to change- but nudging them in the right direction can make a difference.

"You became very happy with each other. Even though you lived under difficult conditions, you managed to enjoy life. Your time together may have been short, but when you were together, you lived wonderful lives," the woman said with a smile.

"So everything they've said is true?" Aglaii asked the elderly woman. "The stories about the mafia, the drugs, the violence…"

"Everything is true. Your son's past life was horrid until that girl came along. Not many people come back to Earth with memories of their past lives," she said, her shaky voice calm.

"But before Rose was three, they had never met," Eliza said, very confused.

"Not in this life time, but they knew each other from their past lives. And their past lives weren't that long ago," the elderly woman said before going into the back and shuffling through some boxes. She then pulled out two news paper articles; one with a burning church, and one with a flowered hill.

"This article describes a kidnapping of a famous Kira supporter. The kidnapper died of a heart attack and the church he was hiding out at was burned," she said as she set down the article with the burning church. "The few who knew him called him 'Mello'. If you look for 'Mello', you will find this," she then pulled out a picture that looked like an older version of Mihael, but he had a burn on the left side of his face.

"This article, on the other hand, is about a young woman who was shot in a grave yard. The shooter said that they killed her because she was in love with the kidnapper of Kira's spokesperson. The girl had been killed over the grave of 'Mello'. Her name was Rose McKeen," she continued before pulling out a picture of an older version of Rose.

"But the Kira case was solves about 20 years ago," Eliza said, now very confused.

"It only takes a fifth of the time it takes for you to blink for a soul to be reincarnated. It all depends on how long the soul decides to stay with the creator," the woman said with a shrug. The mothers looked at one another.

"Obviously these two had unfinished business, so they came back as themselves in order to finish it," the woman said, gesturing towards Mihael and Rose. The two were looking at the articles and pointing things out to one another.

"What kind of 'unfinished business'?" Aglaii asked as she watched her son.

"Could be anything; revenge, career, I personally think that they needed to have a family," the elderly woman said as she put her hands behind her back.

"That's what we keep telling them!" Mihael said, looking up at the woman.

"Your children know what path they're on, so let them travel it," she said as she looked up at the mothers. They looked unsure, but nodded anyway.


End file.
